Aaron Judge's wild 2009 Alex Rodriguez tribute breaks ice for Yankees in ALCS Game 2

With runners on the corners and no outs for Aaron Judge -- again! AGAIN! -- in the first inning of the New York Yankees' Game 2 ALCS showdown with the Cleveland Guardians, it took a moment of divine intervention for a run to score.

Somehow, for the fifth time in the Yankees' six playoff games, both Gleyber Torres and Juan Soto reached base ahead of Judge, the Yanks' struggling captain. Judge failed to produce a run in his first four opportunities, befuddling impatient and anxious Yankee fans a little more with each vexing failure.

On Tuesday, though, Judge came through -- or maybe the ghosts of Yankee Stadium came through and began shifting both his pop flies and vibes in the opposite direction.

With Torres on third, Judge lifted a high pop towards the center of the diamond, and Gold Glove favorite Brayan Rocchio drifted under it. It should've been an easy first out. It could've been an infield fly -- right?

Instead, Rocchio dropped the ball and deflected it well into right field, allowing Torres to scamper home. Judge was safe. Soto was safe. Perhaps the Yankees' MVP, snakebitten in the playoffs to the same extent as pre-2009 Alex Rodriguez to date, will see his luck turn in the same way A-Rod's did after Luis Castillo did him the very same favor?

Yankees' Aaron Judge scores first run of game on Alex Rodriguez-style dropped popup

The Yankees, as is their wont, failed to score a single additional run in the inning, forced to settle for "driving up Tanner Bibee's pitch count" as a successful secondary quest.

Still, though, one can only hope this bit of individual oddness helps break the personal ice for Judge in the same way that Rodriguez's midsummer stunner did during the Yankees' most recent championship season.

Watch Game 1 of the 2009 ALDS against the Twins, and the commentary surrounding A-Rod sounds the same as the current Judge discourse. The announcers speak of a massive load being lifted after a line drive RBI single, followed by a late insurance double. They feel residual relief for Rodriguez, and wonder if the big game might be freeing the rest of the way.

Hopefully, Judge's sacrifice fly in Game 1 and first inning oddity in Game 2 chart a similar course. It can't get much worse, can it? Despite a still-glaring 0-for-4 (thanks to the error!) with RISP in the first frame?